AK Party fine tunes constitutional amendment proposal

Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Çiçek, Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin, AK Party Deputy Chairman Hüseyin Çelik and parliamentary group deputy chairman Bekir Bozdağ toured political parties and civil society organizations last week. Government officials say none of the articles in the constitutional amendment package will be withdrawn, but two more will be added and changes will be made to another two in the package.

In line with criticism from civil society organizations, the number of judges on the Constitutional Court panel -- being brought to 19 from the current 11 -- will be changed to 17 in the amendment package. There will also be changes to the proposed method of the election of Constitutional Court members and their candidacy prerequisites. With the change, the majority of the Constitutional Court members will have a legal background.

There will also be changes to the earlier proposal regarding the organization and structure of the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK). The government now plans to decrease the total number of judges in the proposal and also increase the number of members appointed by the Supreme Court of Appeals -- currently three in the proposal -- and the Council of State -- currently set at two.

The government is also expected to make changes to a constitutional amendment that would give public workers the right to collective bargaining.

Senior members of the AK Party have not yet announced the content of the articles that will be added to the package. These are likely to be made clear after the senior AK Party members talk with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The AK Party plans to submit the proposal to Parliament on Tuesday. The changes to be made to the package are expected to be carried out during talks on the package in the Constitutional Commission.

Meanwhile, senior AK Party deputies who have a legal background, including State Minister Çiçek, State Minister Hayati Yazıcı, Deputy Chairman Haluk İpek, Parliament’s Justice Commission head Ahmet İyimaya, Burhan Kuzu of the same commission, parliamentary group deputy chairman Bozdağ and deputy chairman for the AK Party’s foreign affairs Ömer Çelik gathered yesterday for a meeting that lasted until late into the evening to work on the final draft.

AK Party hopeful despite no BDP support

The Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), whose 20 deputies could be crucial in passing the package, announced that it will not support the package because its proposals for decreasing the 10 percent election threshold to a lower percentage and making changes to the trial of individuals being tried under the Counterterrorism Law were not included. However, the AK Party is happy about this development as the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), who both oppose the package, have been attempting to portray the package as a product of an AK Party-BDP partnership. The AK Party believes that support for the changes will be higher if it is not associated with the pro-Kurdish party.

The Democratic Left Party (DSP), the Felicity Party (SP) and the Grand Unity Party (BBP) had also asked for a lower election threshold. As a gesture, the government will reduce the percentage of votes required to receive Treasury aid from the current 7 percent to 4 or 5 percent. The government is also expected to heed a suggestion from TÜSİAD and include an article that makes it necessary for political parties to hold preliminary elections to nominate parliamentary deputy candidates.

CHP yet to make suggestions

The government is now waiting for input from the CHP, which is working on a six-article constitutional amendment proposal of its own. The CHP announced that it will challenge the AK Party’s package at the Constitutional Court if it is passed in Parliament.

Although the content of the CHP’s package is not yet clear, sources say the six articles include suggestions on the closure of political parties, the trial of military officers in civil courts, the removal of political immunities, women’s rights, unionization rights and changes to the makeup of the HSYK and the Constitutional Court. The CHP is expected to voice its suggestions during talks on the government’s package in the Constitutional Commission. The government is planning to put forward the final form of the proposal after viewing the CHP’s package.

The MHP, which stated that the package should be left until after the general elections in 2012, will not create a package. However, it is also expected to make some suggestions once the package is submitted to Parliament.

The AK Party has 337 seats in Parliament. The package needs at least 330 votes in order to be referred to a referendum. Opposition parties have been trying to use the opposition within the AK Party to make sure that the package fails. The AK Party believes it will not lose more than two votes from its own deputies. AK Party İstanbul deputy Reha Çamuroğlu and Ankara deputy Zekai Özcan have publicly announced that they will vote against the package. Speaking to the Taraf daily yesterday, Çamuroğlu said there were many others in the AK Party who are planning to vote against the package. AK Party deputy Mehmet Ali Şahin cannot vote as he is the parliament speaker. The AK Party hopes to get 334 votes for the package and then refer it to public referendum as by law, constitutional changes passed with less than 367 votes have to be put to public vote.